Thru-hiking along the top of Santa Ynez Mountains with Diane Soini

Growing up in Goleta, I would look up at the mountains and wonder what it was like up there, imagining other worlds. I have hiked most of the local trails and looked out at the Santa Ynez Mountains almost every day of my life, but never had I hiked from one end of the mountains to the other.

Years ago I was part of a small group of people who wanted to restore the historic Ocean View Trail, which ran along the top of the mountains behind Carpinteria to the Ventura River. That trail combined with the other existing routes made for a nearly continuous route along the top of the mountains. In 2017, a growing group of dedicated volunteers reopened the Ocean View Trail from the end of Divide Peak OHV Road to the Ventura River Preserve.

When I heard this section was passable all the way to Ojai, I decided to thru-hike along the top of the Santa Ynez Mountains from Gaviota to the Ventura River. It took me 4 days to walk.

The views are absolutely incredible. There are always two views, one of the interior mountains and one of the ocean and islands. And then there is you, walking a line in between the worlds with your entire route in view in front of and behind you.

Diane Soini was born in Santa Barbara, and grew up in Goleta. She is the author of the online hiking guide Santa Barbara Hikes, and has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming sections of the Continental Divide Trail, the Arizona Trail, and most of the trails in the southern Los Padres.

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